1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a computer network system wherein a plurality of users share the same virtual space and converse simultaneously, and to technology for promoting communication between users in, for example, a chat system.
2. Description of Related Art
Various communication means via computer networks have appeared in recent years due to the diffusion of the Internet. Among them, multi-user and real-time communication means known as chat systems have become a remarkable replacement for conventional electronic mail and telephones. xe2x80x9cChat,xe2x80x9d then, can be thought of as xe2x80x9clive e-mail,xe2x80x9d in other words, on-line messagingxe2x80x94exchange of remarksxe2x80x94in a system that uses the Internet.
A computer linked to a network via a server computer and running a software application enabling a user to chat with another computer user on that network may be referred to as a xe2x80x9cchat client.xe2x80x9d Users chatting through chat clients and corresponding servers create a chat network that is commonly referred to as xe2x80x9ca virtual space.xe2x80x9d The chat client users thus establish a conversation forum, or so-called channel, in the server and converse in real time. A xe2x80x9cchat systemxe2x80x9d is, then, a communication system defined by chat client users sharing a number of virtual spaces.
To increase user convenience in chat systems, chat clients are offered that can, for example, display a list of channels in which the user is participating. In addition, chat clients are offered that display not only the names but also the conversational content of channels in which the user is participating, independently of displaying the conversational content of the channel on which a user is currently chatting. Furthermore, as means by which a user can search efficiently for a channel desired from among the enormous number of existing channels for convenience in chat systems, chat clients can include channel guide applications. The applications store a log of all channels in advance, and based on a subsequent user request, notify the user of channels that match specified keywords and preferences. Such an application may employ a means external to the application such as a xe2x80x9cbotxe2x80x9d (or xe2x80x9crobotxe2x80x9d) program that runs continually on the user""s computer and links to the Internet to perform a user-like task).
Normally, users often want to know the contents of conversations on channels in which they are not participating, and want to decide whether to join depending on the contents. In conventional chat systems, however, users cannot obtain the content of conversations on channels in which they are not participating, that is, channels which they have not yet joined.
Conventional channel guiding methods succeed to a certain extent in searching for channels that match users"" preferences. These methods are essentially so-called xe2x80x9cactive pushxe2x80x9d methods of information gathering from a networkxe2x80x94in particular the Internetxe2x80x94that is, methods that reply with information in response to individual requests from users. Accordingly, users must send out onto the network their preferences every time they desire a response. Consequently, the contents of conversations on relevant channels may already have changed when a notification is made of channels matching search request preferences, which makes the immediateness (real-time quality) is inadequate. Furthermore, if a log of all the channels is to be obtained, excessive resources are required.
An object of the present invention is to enable information tailored to users in a chat system to be obtained in real time, and to prevent wasting server resources.
To solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention in a first aspect provides a network search method used in a communication system wherein the same network is mutually shared by a plurality of users and simultaneous bi-directional communication is possible. In the method, one or more search preferences to search for a network are stored, associated with each user; the state of the network is acquired from the communication system every time the state of the network changes, and is stored; based on the stored state, a judgment is made as to whether the network wherein the state ha s changed satisfies any stored search preference; and based on that judgment, the user is notified of the network that satisfies any search preference of the corresponding user.
Every time the status of a network changes that network is judged as to whether it satisfies any preference set by the user. Based on the judgment result, the users are notified of the network that satisfies any search preference of that user. The network desired by the user can be reported in real time.
In a second aspect the present invention provides a network search system used in a communication system wherein the same network is mutually shared by a plurality of user terminals and simultaneous bi-directional communicate is possible. The network search system includes a storage means, a registration means, a configuration means, a recording means, a preferences-based search means, a notification means, and an output means.
The storage means stores, associated with the user, one or more search preferences to search for a network. The registration means registers the search preference in the storage means. The configuration means receives the input of the search preference and sends it to the registration means, associated with the user. The recording means acquires each network state from the communication system, and stores it. Herein, a reduction in resources is achieved by configuring the network search system so that the state of the network is recorded only for a fixed amount or for a fixed period of time. The preferences-based search means judges, based on each network state stored in the recording means, whether each network satisfies any search preference. The notification means, based on that judgment, notifies the user terminal of the network that conforms to any search preference of the respective user. The output means outputs the notification contents.
Taking a chat system as an example, the above-mentioned network corresponds to a channel. Each user sets a channel search preference by a configuration means, and transmits the preference to a recording means. Search preference setting can be accomplished through an originally provided configuration means, or by using, for example, a Web browser or a technique such as data mining, which searches for patterns and correlations in data by statistical algorithms. The registration means stores the transmitted search preference in the storage means by user. Presently, the keyword xe2x80x9cAAAxe2x80x9d is taken to be registered as the search preference of user A in the storage means. Further, given that a keyword is a search preference, the search is taken to be executed by a preference that the specified keyword appears three or more times in three minutes.
The recording means records, for each channel, the remarking of the keyword xe2x80x9cAAAxe2x80x9d and the remark time. Only records within three minutes from the present time are held. Furthermore, the recording means rewrites the records every time a change related to the network occurs. A change in the network state is some change related to the channel; for example, a remark from any chat client in any channel, or a change in the mode or number of users in any channel. If a change in a channel arises, the preferences-based search means judges whether that channel now meets each of the search preferences registered in the storage means. If any preference is satisfied, the preferences-based search means transmits the user and channel name to the notification means. The notification means notifies all user terminals for which that search preference is set of the channel that satisfies any search preference. At the user terminal, the output means outputs the channel report name on the screen, for example.
In accordance with the invention in another aspect, the notification means of the network search system acquires from the recording means additional information, i.e. supplemental data related to the network, and reports it along with the network to the user terminal.
If, for example, channel CH1 satisfies the change in channel topic preference, the notification means acquires the channel topic from the recording means, and transmits it along with the channel to the user terminal.
In accordance with the present invention in yet another aspect, the preferences-based search means of the network search system further acquires supplemental data related to the network, and the notification means reports it along with the network to the user terminal.
The supplemental data may also be acquired by the preferences-based search means. In this case, the preferences-based search means acquires the supplemental data in addition to the judgment of whether the search preference is satisfied, and transmits to the notification means the supplemental data along with the preference and network.
In accordance with the invention in still another aspect, the storage means of the network search system stores at least a keyword as the search preference of each user, the recording means records for each network the remark time of the stored keyword and holds the records dating back for a predetermined unit of time, and the preferences-based search means judges, based on the number of remarks of the keyword per unit of time, whether each network satisfies the keyword preference.
As noted earlier, only three minutes of past records are held and, if a keyword is uttered three or more times in three minutes, it is judged that that keyword preference is met.
In accordance with the invention in a further aspect, the storage means of the network search system stores at least the remark frequency as the search preference of each user, the recording means records for each network the remark time every time there is a remark, and holds the records dating back for a predetermined unit of time, and the preferences-based search means judges, based on the number of remarks per unit of time, whether each network satisfies the remark frequency preference.
For example, the recording means records, for each channel, the time when a remark occurs. The records are held for a predetermined unit of time. If the unit of time is five minutes, the preferences-based search means judges, based on the number of times the remark occurs in the past five minutes, whether it matches the user-specified remark frequency search preference.
The network search system storage means of the invention in a still further aspect stores at least a change in topic of the network as the search preference of each user, the recording means acquires the topic every time the topic of any network changes, and stores it, and the preferences-based search means judges, based on that acquisition, whether the relevant network satisfies the network topic change preference.
Using the above-mentioned example of the chat system, the recording means monitors changes in the topic of each channel. If the topic changes in any channel, the recording means acquires the changed topic. If the preferences-based search means judges that that channel satisfies the topic change preference, the channel name is transmitted to the notification means.
The network search system storage means of the invention in yet a further aspect stores at least the range of the number of users that share the network as the search preference of each user, the recording means acquires the number of users every time the number of users sharing any network changes, and stores it, and the preferences-based search means judges, based on that acquisition, whether the number of users of the relevant network conforms to the search preference of each user.
For example, considering a case wherein user A sets a search preference that the number of users on a network is 10 or greater, and user B sets 5 or greater. Every time the number of users on any network changes, the recording means acquires the number of users thereof. Every time the recording means acquires the number of users, the preferences-based search means judges, for that network, whether it is 10 or greater, or whether it is 5 or greater. If the number of users of the network is 10 or greater, it is judged that the search preference of users A and B is satisfied. If 5 or greater, it is judged that the search preference of user B is satisfied.
The network search system storage means in accordance with the present invention in yet another aspect stores at least the joining or parting of a specified user as the search preference of each user, the recording means acquires the user every time the users sharing any network changes, and stores it, and the preferences-based search means compares the users before the acquisition and the users after the acquisition and judges whether it conforms to the search preference of each user.
Assuming for example that user A sets the joining of user C as the search preference, if user C newly joins channel CH1, the preferences-based search means judges that channel CH1 matches the search preference of user A.
The storage means in accordance with the invention in another aspect stores at least the change in mode of each network as the search preference of each user, the recording means acquires the mode every time the mode of any network changes, and the preferences-based search means judges, based on that acquisition, whether the relevant network satisfies the mode change preference.
To explain once again using the example of the chat system, the mode of a channel is an identifier that indicates the characteristics of the channel. For example, private channels, secret channels, invite-only channels and the like can be cited. If a mode changes in any channel, the preferences-based search means judges that that channel matches the mode change preference.
In accordance with the invention in still another aspect, the output means of the network search system varies the output display in accordance with the notification contents reported by the notification means.
For example, in accordance with the hit search preference or supplemental data, the display color is changed, or the display is reversed or highlighted and the like.
The output means in accordance with the invention in yet a further aspect counts the number of notifications for each reported network, and changes, based on the count results, the output display of the notification contents.
It is conceivable to, for example, display in order of the highest count, displaying the counts side by side, changing the font or display color in accordance with the count, or changing the display of the icons.
In accordance with the invention in still another aspect, the network search system is further provided with a prevent-joining means that stores the search preference as the search preference of a prohibited network and, if a network that satisfies the search preference is reported, denies the joining of the reported network.
This prevent-joining means displays a message like xe2x80x9cUnable to Reportxe2x80x9d and prevents joining the channel, even if an instruction to join the channel report is issued. In addition, joining the channel may also be prevented in a manner so that the channel report is not displayed.
In accordance with the present invention in a further aspect, the network search system is additionally provided with an auxiliary means that, if a user is joining the bi-directional communication system for the first time, prompts the setting of the network search preference, and sends the set search preference to the registration means.
For example, a window to input the search preference is displayed. The window changes according to the input, and the user is prompted to set the desired preference in order to search for a network.
In yet another aspect, a protect means is further provided in the network search system in accordance with the invention. The protect means receives for each network the setting of whether to permit reporting of the network, and the notification means notifies the user terminal in accordance with the setting.
When unable-to-report is set by the protect means, the notification means does not notify of the presence of a channel even if the channel satisfies the search preference.
In an even further aspect, the present invention provides a network search component used in a communication system wherein the same network is mutually shared by a plurality of user terminals and simultaneous bi-directional communicate is possible. The network search component is provided with a storage means, a recording means, a preferences-based search means, and a notification means. The storage means stores, associated with a user, one or more search preferences to search for a network. The recording means acquires the state of each network from the communication system, and stores it. The preferences-based search means judges, based on each network state stored in the recording means, whether each network satisfies any search preference. The notification means, based on that judgment, notifies the corresponding user terminal of all networks that meet any search preference of the user.
Taking the example of the chat system, the network search component is provided with a chat server. The network search component uses the above-mentioned method to search for a channel that satisfies each search preference, and notifies the user terminal.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a network acquisition device used in an information terminal connected to a server, wherein the same network is mutually shared with other information terminals and simultaneous bi-directional communication is possible. The network acquisition device executes a search for a network and is provided with a configuration means and an output means. The configuration means receives the input of one or more search preferences to search for a network, and transmits it to the server. The output means receives from the server a notification that includes the network name that satisfies at least any search preference, and outputs the notification contents.
In other words, the network search preference is set and sent to the network search component in accordance with the just-described aspect of the present invention. In addition, the network name and supplemental data reported by the network search component in the foregoing aspect of the invention is output to a display screen or the like.
In still another aspect, the invention is embodied in a computer-readable recording medium whereon is recorded a network search program used in a communication system wherein the same network is mutually shared by a plurality of user terminals and simultaneous bi-directional communicate is possible, wherein the network search program is recorded in order to execute steps (a) to (d) below.
(a) a step of storing at least one network search preference linked to at least one user;
(b) a step of monitoring status of the communication system networks for changes according to predetermined parameters and, in response to every occurring status change, storing network status information signaling a changed-status network;
(c) a step of determining based upon the stored network status information whether a changed-status network meets the at least one stored user-linked network search preference; and
(d) a step of notifying the at least one user of any changed-status network meeting the stored user-linked network search preference.
Operation herein is similar to that of the invention set forth above as a network search component.
In one still further aspect, the present invention is embodied in a computer-readable recording medium whereon is recorded a network acquisition program used in an information terminal connected to a server, wherein the same network is mutually shared with other information terminals and simultaneous bi-directional communication is possible, that executes a search for a network, wherein the network acquisition program is recorded in order to execute steps (a) and (b) below.
(a) a step of accepting as input at least one network search preference and sending the user-terminal linked network search preference to the server; and
(b) a step of receiving from the server a notification including information identifying any network meeting the at least one network search preference, and for output of notification content.
Operation herein is similar to that of the invention set forth above as a network acquisition device.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.